Is this contagious?

Stewie Griffin

A girl in my office has just claimed to be suffering from "Diploma Depression". Need I worry? If I slap her really effing hard, will she be cured? What on Gods green Earth is going on with the next generation?

Harry B

what the efffing hell is diploma depression?

shockedsoshocked

Is it where you finish University and find you have to enter the real world where people can't get away with staying in bed till midday and drinking all evening?

(the majority of my mates are clinging to student life like it's the end of the world)

Stewie Griffin

She had her face in her hands, concerned, I asked her what was wrong "Diploma Depression" and looked up for sympathy. I advised her that when I was her age I had just been made redundant in our last recession and all I could get to do for money was wash cars. Which I did, without moaning.

Actually I probably moaned my rear end off, but thats not the point!

DavidBelcher

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

Is it where you finish University and find you have to enter the real world where people can't get away with staying in bed till midday and drinking all evening?

When I was studying (chemistry, to be precise), staying in bed until midday was never an option, unlike the workshy fops who did arts degrees. Drinking all evening was definitely par for the course, though - from my experience most chemistry departments in UK universities have more than their fair share of people who enjoy a jar or six, even more so at postgrad level; "work hard, play hard" seems to be the order of the day.

David

hopper1

Yep, slap her, really f*ckin' hard!!
Tell her to get a grip.
I cannot fathom the youth of today........ :evil: :evil:

CHRISNOIR

Am I the only person who believes my life actually got better when I finished my degree? This constant 'wish-I-was-still-a-student' syndrome seems like an admission that your current life is lousy. Since graduating I've not had to -

-deal with other peoples half eaten meals in the front room
-argue with Rental Associations
-live on noodles for a week
-plead with a bank for a bigger overdraft
-clear half a kilo of pasta from a blocked sink

(Mutter, grumble, youngsters, pah etc...)

DavidBelcher

CHRISNOIR wrote:

-clear half a kilo of pasta from a blocked sink

Whilst we're on the subject, a bike-related 'Top Tip' - an old outer brake cable casing (pick a nice long one, 2-3 feet at least) makes an excellent sink-unblocking device. Highly recommended.

David

CHRISNOIR

DavidBelcher wrote:

CHRISNOIR wrote:

-clear half a kilo of pasta from a blocked sink

Whilst we're on the subject, a bike-related 'Top Tip' - an old outer brake cable casing (pick a nice long one, 2-3 feet at least) makes an excellent sink-unblocking device. Highly recommended.

David

That's good thinking, I wish I'd had one at the time! The lack of common sense from my (admittedly younger) housemates was quite astounding. For them all waste food went down the sink and any spills on the kitchen lino (including, on one occasion, a full bottle of sunflower oil) could be sorted out by putting newspaper over it and going to their parents for the weekend.

idaviesmoore

CHRISNOIR wrote:

DavidBelcher wrote:

CHRISNOIR wrote:

-clear half a kilo of pasta from a blocked sink

Whilst we're on the subject, a bike-related 'Top Tip' - an old outer brake cable casing (pick a nice long one, 2-3 feet at least) makes an excellent sink-unblocking device. Highly recommended.

David

That's good thinking, I wish I'd had one at the time! The lack of common sense from my (admittedly younger) housemates was quite astounding. For them all waste food went down the sink and any spills on the kitchen lino (including, on one occasion, a full bottle of sunflower oil) could be sorted out by putting newspaper over it and going to their parents for the weekend.

You can also use a small Patterdale Terrier in much the same way. Their broken coat also descales the pipe nicely

ride_whenever

I'm not sure it's the change of work so much as the type of work. I've just finished my chemistry undergrad (so that would be rowing, sleeping and drinking then) and spent the summer working in an office, it was the most depressing dull thing I've ever done, there was absolutely no challenge to it and it was completely mindless with no room for creative flair.

I'm now doing my PhD...

Harry B

ride_whenever wrote:

I'm now doing my PhD...

Your gonna have to join the real world some time and suffer like the rest of us

ride_whenever

Nope, I plan on either staying in acedemia or becoming a full time rowing coach...

Rose coloured glasses and a blissful ignorance of the real world are far preferable for me.

cee

I suppose it depends on whether you get a job in the area you are interested in when you finish studying.

I can see how someone with a fresh chemistry bsc would not enjoy working in an office. Put them in a top secret lab though with enough lasers and dry ice for everyone and...well chemicals i suppose.....and presumably they would be a little happier no?

I graduated and was working within 3 weeks, in my area of study, so just continued learning really, but stuff that was actually useful.

biondino

While it's pretty low down the list of actual things that deserve sympathy, the difference between being a final year student, with friends, student lifestyle, cheap everything - and, importantly, being top of the undergrad heap - and being right at the bottom again, living with parents or in some crappy shared house or bedsit, either unemployed or doing some entry-level job, away from your friends, broke, dealing with adult responsibility for the first real time, is a substantial difference. I was amazed how hard it was, or at least how easy my life had been until suddenly I was let out into the real world.

By all means, MTFU - you've got to deal with it, make it through, there's no point in getting all self-pitying - but that doesn't mean aspects of it aren't genuinely tough.

ride_whenever

I agree with that, I'd love to work for the DSTL.

But what is this BSC jobbie, I've MChem I'll have you know!

I do enjoy research though...

shockedsoshocked

DavidBelcher wrote:

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

Is it where you finish University and find you have to enter the real world where people can't get away with staying in bed till midday and drinking all evening?

When I was studying (chemistry, to be precise), staying in bed until midday was never an option, unlike the workshy fops who did arts degrees. Drinking all evening was definitely par for the course, though - from my experience most chemistry departments in UK universities have more than their fair share of people who enjoy a jar or six, even more so at postgrad level; "work hard, play hard" seems to be the order of the day.

David

Staying in bed when I was at Uni wasn't an option either (admittedly I was doing History and only stayed for a look around), but not because I had work to do, but because I was in a flat full of student nurses (it had its perks) and they were all up at 5 in the morning to travel god knows how far for placements and they took great pleasure in waking me up.

martinwitnam

Student nurses who'd have 'em? Actually learning within the field that they're going to be working. Then when they qualify these days they decide this isn't what they want to do. And they've endured the worst of it by then.

suze

I remember when I first got my degree (20 years ago) and more importantly a job...I was often better qualified than colleagues and felt that the world owed me a living "cos I'd got a Degree" I guess I had "diploma depression" or as the union man said a "chip on my shoulder"

After college moving into work/adult responosibility is difficult. For some people, realising that it's a proper job and not a college assignment can be a wake up call. It came to me in the shape of the union man who generally pulled no punches, spoke honestly.

Anyway I soon grew up and realised that "you're only as good as your last job" the bit of paper is pretty much worthless if you can't do the job.

I think a lot of college graduates think as I did, I needed the slap of reality from the union man.

DavidBelcher

martinwitnam wrote:

Student nurses who'd have 'em?

Slightly blue jokes on a postcard, please....

David

beverick

ride_whenever wrote:

Nope, I plan on either staying in acedemia or becoming a full time rowing coach...

Rose coloured glasses and a blissful ignorance of the real world are far preferable for me.

With spelling like that you should pin your hopes on the rowing.....

Bob

synchronicity

Harry B wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

I'm now doing my PhD...

Your gonna have to join the real world some time and suffer like the rest of us

Uh-oh. I completed my PhD (in materials,but it was more like colloidal science). I did get quite depressed during & after that (I just didn't know it at the time). It took 6 years out of my life & yes I am pretty sure I regret doing it. I learned a lot the first year though...

IMO, a Ph.D just delays the inevitable and probably worsens your chances of landing an outside job (depsite what your mentors tell you). Because you become over-specialised. Unless of course what you go through hasn't completely turned you off the idea of research. What's the next logical step? A Post Doc in the exact same field? Lecturing? I didn't want to spend half my life in a University, so I got out at that point.

Ph.D life is pretty laid back until it's time to finish your thesis. Then you seem to have to pay for all those easy days many, many times over. Think 80 hour weeks for 4-6 months.

The trouble is, it's in your Proffessor's best interests as they get science papers co-written which increases their citation index. I think I took it all too seriously... and it was a major relief just to finish. I'm a perfectionist but it still wasn't good enough for one of the examiners. Anyway, after countless late nights I handed in my final thesis and was on the plane to Vanuatu 3 hours later! 8) It was a HUGE relief. But in the end, I was overqualified with theory and underqualified with actual work experience. Be careful you don't fall into that trap.

Now look at what I'm doing. I'm ashamed to visit my faculty for the inevitable "what are you doing now?" type question. "Errr... renting bikes on an island? ... oh but I have invented a new ceramic bike part since I was here last" :oops:

unclemalc

Diploma Depression - the fear that failure means I am gonna be working in a "poundshop" with a 20yr-old manager telling me to do shite jobs all day, for the rest of my life...

synchronicity wrote:

Harry B wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

I'm now doing my PhD...

Uh-oh. I completed my PhD (in materials,but it was more like colloidal science). I did get quite depressed during & after that (I just didn't know it at the time). It took 6 years out of my life & yes I am pretty sure I regret doing it.IMO, a Ph.D just delays the inevitable and probably worsens your chances of landing an outside job (depsite what your mentors tell you). Because you become over-specialised.

Did mine in 6 years - part-time as I was working at the place. NOw a 'specialist' in a very small bit of Environmental Science and everybody asks if Global Warming is my fault.... :shock:


[quote="Unless of course what you go through hasn't completely turned you off the idea of research. What's the next logical step? A Post Doc in the exact same field? Lecturing? I didn't want to spend half my life in a University, so I got out at that point.

Post Doc? Noooo :shock:

Lecturing - inevitable: after all, I am now a 'specialist'...

[quote="The trouble is, it's in your Proffessor's (sic) best interests as they get science papers co-written which increases their citation index. I think I took it all too seriously... and it was a major relief just to finish. [/quote]

+1 with that. Never published any of it tho' because the 'decent' journals took 12 months to decide I had not saved the Earth, so they didn't want it. I didn't want to be in the Esperanto Journal of Unwanted Bits of Science so its still on the shelf....

Barry Roubaix

Is this contagious?

No - but it's outrageous

another jacko

A PhD seems to be pretty much mandatory to get on if you are working in a University, even in jobs where there is no need for "research skills". I don't understand why this should be so except in a 'jobs for the boys' way.

As a recruiter for some Uni management posts, from my experience I would say that academics who apply, even very senior ones, usually have very limited range of experience and not much in the way of transferable skills. If you ever have to work with academics you'll soon find that most are pretty thick when it comes to doing anything outside the confines of researching their narrow discipline, but they are dangerous because they think they are cleverer than anyone else and their PhD gives them the right to pull rank. If you don't defer to them they claim 'academic freedom' and opt out of being bound by collective decisions. In consequence most Unis are appallingly badly managed.

There was a noteable contribution recently at one meeting by an academic who said "In order to understand the real world you need to have researched it" inviting the response from a colleague "In order to understand the real world it helps to be part of it!"

What gets my goat most though is this really petty thing that happens when you go round the table as people introduce themselves. Most people give their name "Fred Bloggs from Marketing" or whatever. Academics always have to say "Doctor Smith" - or is it just their parents foresight that named them for the profession they were destined to follow?

ride_whenever

I've got a paper submitted, so we should get some revisions and it'll be published soon hopefully, from the final year of my undergrad. I do appreciate the overspecialisation of doing a D.Phil, which is why i'm doing plenty of other things to build up a decent skill set, such as coaching and organising regattas. I'm also taking a milling and lathing course, after which hopefully I'll do launch driving (not really transferable, but powerturns in ribs on the tideway!) first aid and glassblowing. After that I'm not sure what I'll do for extra skills, possibly some more network based IT work.

I think i'll be fairly set for skills if i decide to join the workplace. And hopefully I won't be too specialised as my D.Phil covers a fairly broad area and I'm attending lectures from all three areas of chemistry.

synchronicity

unclemalc wrote:

[quote="The trouble is, it's in your Proffessor's (sic) best interests as they get science papers co-written which increases their citation index. I think I took it all too seriously... and it was a major relief just to finish. [/quote]

+1 with that. Never published any of it tho' because the 'decent' journals took 12 months to decide I had not saved the Earth, so they didn't want it. I didn't want to be in the Esperanto Journal of Unwanted Bits of Science so its still on the shelf....

Hmmm. I noticed you picked up on a spelling mistake. It's true my spelling is shockingly bad ever since I came to Spain & it makes me look stupid... but I bet if you learned 10,000+ new Spanish words, you'd forget if words like 'professor' had one or two f's. Not having a go at you or anything... just don't want you to think that my thesis is full of spelling mistakes.

SCR Pedro

suze wrote:

...

Anyway I soon grew up and realised that "you're only as good as your last job" the bit of paper is pretty much worthless if you can't do the job....

That's me! I've gone from £13ph to mimum wage in a remarkably short space of time. I can't even get back into the financial industry at entry level. Knowing that I'm going to uni to retrain is the only thing that keeps me going. I can't wait to start putting in the hours and rolling my eyes at the layabouts who can never be bothered turning up to class.

Luckily I'm going into an industry which will get me a job almost anywhere in the world, so this minimum wage nightmare won't last forever 8)

Pedro

always_tyred

ride_whenever wrote:

I'm not sure it's the change of work so much as the type of work. I've just finished my chemistry undergrad (so that would be rowing, sleeping and drinking then) and spent the summer working in an office, it was the most depressing dull thing I've ever done, there was absolutely no challenge to it and it was completely mindless with no room for creative flair.

I'm now doing my PhD...

Depending on your supervisor, there'll be absolutely no room for creative flair, it will be intensely dull and you will receive no credit because all of the creative ideas came from the boss man.

Still, its only 3 years plus 6 months to write up plus another 6 months that you lost somewhere between Donny Bridge and the green bank, and after that you'll be able to command about £5k less than all your mates did 4 years before when they went to be strategy consultants.

Ieuanllan

Regarding the point about academics generally being maladjusted weirdos who always refer to themselves as 'Doctor so and so', I agree wholeheartedly, but please don't tar us all with the same brush!
I've had my PhD long enough to realise that it's pretty meaningless in the real world, and that when you work in a place with 80 other PhD chemists, it means even less.

Also, if anyone still has any ideas to the contrary, you don't have to be clever to get a PhD, I know so many really stupid people...

Dr Ieuanllan

always_tyred

Ieuanllan wrote:

Regarding the point about academics generally being maladjusted weirdos who always refer to themselves as 'Doctor so and so', I agree wholeheartedly, but please don't tar us all with the same brush!
I've had my PhD long enough to realise that it's pretty meaningless in the real world, and that when you work in a place with 80 other PhD chemists, it means even less.

Also, if anyone still has any ideas to the contrary, you don't have to be clever to get a PhD, I know so many really stupid people...

Dr Ieuanllan

Is it just me or are a LOT of depressed PhD Chemists on the forum?

PhD - required skills: determination, and excellent word procecssing skills in order to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.